Who is on Job seekers allowance - what to expect

I have now been told that for what ever reason i need to apply for JSA now i have made an application probably expect an interview at my local job centre

anyone on JSA at the moment and what to expect at interview t job centre
from past stories what I hear is that interview at job centers to help them get a job or basically an interview are no good and get treated like rubbish

are people at job centers no use also is it just a formality where you have to given a form stating that you are looking for work and keep filling it in until you do get work

Also I dont want to apply for JSA as feel that i am claiming benefit from the state and being on the dole

after hearing politicians to either learn or earn i dont want to be on benefits or be on the dole as I am not that person i do work and aim to get a job as they are hard to come by

I went for the first time on Monday ... the woman was absolutely horrible to me, I came home crying. I didn't want to go on benefits, but then my mum pointed out that she and my dad have paid tax for so many years, so surely I was entitled to something now in my time of need.
I need to find a job ASAP, but I have no experience and my social anxiety is horrifically bad, which I'm sure will come across in interviews and put anyone off employing me.

In the past the job of your JC advisers was to advise, and to help you seek work and support you as you did so.

That is no longer the case, 99% of what JC advisers used to do is now done by private companies.

How things go for you depend on several factors, your age, your qualifications, your work history etc. etc. All of that has an influence on how you are treated and what they do with you.

If you are under 25 you'll likely very quickly find yourself referred to one of the programmes run by private companies, either The Work Programme or Mandatory Work Activity are the two biggest and most likely schemes you'll be sent on.

The biggest is the Work Programme. It's run by different companies in different areas, companies like Interserve Working Futures, Igneus, Serco etc. Some companies appear to be better than others though, but you have no choice as to which company you get sent to as it depends who won the contract for the area in which you live. And you HAVE to go, if you don't you will be sanctioned and your benefits stopped for a period of time. The WP company essentially take over what your JC adviser is supposed to do, namely agreeing on your job search parameters, how much help they think you need, how many jobs you should apply for a week or a month or whatever, and to keep track and check you are meeting your obligations. If you go to a good company and have a decent adviser it's nothing to get too worked up about. Just make sure you do what has been agreed, and that you retain proper evidence of jobs you have applied to hand in to them at every meeting. You will still have to sign on every week or two weeks (it depends again on what the JC decide), but if you are on the Work Programme signing on is normally just a formality, as it is the responsibility of your WP company to keep you on track. However, some JC advisers can be a bit "jobsworth" and demand to see the same evidence the WP company want. One week I might get asked for evidence, the next sign on date I don't and I am in and out in five minutes, there's no consistency and it seems to depend on what mood the JC adviser is in that day, so to make sure there's little chance of me being sanctioned I always take evidence when signing on too, just in case I get asked for it.

The second big programme is Mandatory Work Activity, often referred to as Workfare. On this programme you will be expected to attend a period of work, usually full time, in some sector like retail. In fact, it seems to be 99.9% retail work, usually for someone like Poundland and it is generally for 4 weeks or 8 weeks, but can be much longer. You might get help with travelling expenses, but you wont be paid any extra for your period of work. Again MWA is mandatory, if you fail to turn up and do what you are told you face being sanctioned and losing your benefits. Despite working full time you will also be expected to be actively seeking work, and again have to provide evidence of your jobsearch each time you sign on.

Those are the two most likely programmes you'll end up on, but how quickly you get sent on one depends on the factors mentioned earlier, but also often on the whim of your Job Centre Advisor.

The best advice is to make sure you read your job search agreements, and what is expected of you, and do what is required. Today many advisers seem to be looking for any little excuse to sanction you, so don't give them much of a chance to do so by following the rules properly. But equally, Google is your friend. Make yourself fully aware of your obligations, and get up to speed with your rights too so you know if you are doing things right but equally you know if they are trying to take the piss.

One example of them doing that is when it comes to their Jobsearch website, Universal Job Match. They can request that you create an account on UJM, and even mandate you to do so by including it in your jobsearch agreement. However, what they CANNOT do is to mandate you to give them access to your account, as that would be a breach of the Data protection ACT, but there have been quite a number of reports of Job Centre Advisers telling clients it is mandatory for them to be allowed access, it is not and the DWP have a couple of times had to remind Job Centres that it is not. The problem with UJM is that it is a poor site, badly designed, and is prone to fake adverts from scammers as there is very little checking done of people and companies who can place job adds on the site. Giving access to UJM to your adviser also allows them to highlight jobs they require you to apply for, and if you don't you can be sanctioned even if that job is completely unsuitable. You must also give reasons as to why you have not applied even if you just view the details of a job, and if your adviser doesn't agree with your reasons you face sanctions.

There are a huge number of much better jobsearch websites out there, such as Monster.co.uk (who actually run the UJM site, but their own site is far better), Jobstoday.co.uk, Jobserve.com, Fish4jobs and many others.

Search for local job agencies too, a great many jobs go via agencies and don't even make it onto jobsearch sites sometimes.

OK, that'll do, I've had enough of all that typing now. Just keep positive, and ignore the fact the Daily Mail, many on DS and the Government now hate your guts as you have joined the ranks of the "dole scrounger".

Most of the time it's no problem. For me, it's 1 hour bus journey to the job centre then waiting for my name to be called for 15 minutes then I literally sit down, sign a piece of paper and get told to go. It's a complete waste of time. However, it depends on your advisor. Some advisors will talk to you like dirt and patronise you and give you dirty looks and accuse you of lying about your job applications. If you get referred to a Work Program or Ingeus then I feel sorry for you because they're a complete waste of time, too.

Signing on isn't really a big deal at all but I can assure you that YOU will find a job for yourself. THEY won't find you anything.

I've signed on a couple of times over the years out of desperation for a bit of cash. It really is a last resort for me and as other posters have said they are useless at actually helping people to find jobs. I certainly never got one from them.

This is a fantastic website for careers and job hunting advice. http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/ our tutors at uni recommended it and I've found it really helpful.

I have claimed JSA a number of times in the past few years and I have never had a problem I've always found my advisors to be very friendly. I sometimes wonder if I have been very lucky or whether other people are very unlucky.

I have claimed JSA a number of times in the past few years and I have never had a problem I've always found my advisors to be very friendly. I sometimes wonder if I have been very lucky or whether other people are very unlucky.

Same here. The advisers I see are generally fine, I always find just saying "Morning" helps too. I've had one or two arseholes, but not normally.

so frankly just got a text message to meet a JC adviser at 9:10am on monday morning apart from MY CV what else should i bring

also from what I read seems to me that JC advisers and signing on is a lot of hassel and will force u onto a program that u dont like i am worried now cause I dont want to be screwed and get a bad person shouting at me for no reason but to get off the dole

i though to get signed on all you do is get a form filled in and say what jobs you are applying for and say what sort of jobs your want and say you need to JSA to get by and say you are applying jobs online

I hope i dont get hell and force on to a program i dont like and say that go and work in some shop which i dont want to

just want a office job where u sit all day and type stuff up thats all

so frankly just got a text message to meet a JC adviser at 9:10am on monday morning apart from MY CV what else should i bring

also from what I read seems to me that JC advisers and signing on is a lot of hassel and will force u onto a program that u dont like i am worried now cause I dont want to be screwed and get a bad person shouting at me for no reason but to get off the dole

i though to get signed on all you do is get a form filled in and say what jobs you are applying for and say what sort of jobs your want and say you need to JSA to get by and say you are applying jobs online

I hope i dont get hell and force on to a program i dont like and say that go and work in some shop which i dont want to

just want a office job where u sit all day and type stuff up thats all

Have you got your CV on totaljobs, reed, jobsite, monster, are you signed up with agencies?
You should take proof of ID with you and proof of NI.

in order to get JSA is it mandaorty to be on one of the work program and work for shops etc and take jobs no one else would and going to expect jc adviser to be bad to me and shouting and all that

not looking forward to it dont know why i need to sign on in the first place as hear so many stories of JC advisors being bad to people

dont want that

There is no way anyone on here can know if you would be put straight on the work program (highly unlikely though). You are entitled to JSA if you want it and provided you do what is asked of you it is highly unlikely you will get yelled at.
Remember thousands of people sign on- its not meant to be a nice experience but for most people nothing happens of note it is only the awful experiences you hear about.

There is no way anyone on here can know if you would be put straight on the work program (highly unlikely though). You are entitled to JSA if you want it and provided you do what is asked of you it is highly unlikely you will get yelled at.Remember thousands of people sign on- its not meant to be a nice experience but for most people nothing happens of note it is only the awful experiences you hear about.

Had to do it once or twice over the past year--usually found a job with a rubbish company (insurance sales,ppi,y`know...) and then had to go back. Got a job today with a reputable global brand,guaranteed three months at least,temp to perm. So should be off the dole for good.:)
The Job Centre was useless at finding work--I got on a scheme which led to 2 weeks `training` one week `assessment week` with a company and then 7 days with them to be dismissed with no good reason. I`ve since found out the firm has had a BBC programme made about its former incarnation being a scam, one of the directors was at Brum Crown Court last month for perjury etc, and they certainly didn`t pay me,and are probably going to fold pretty soon. And that was in a schene through the Job Centre. I am lodging an official complaint.
I also noticed their Universal Jobmatch just repeats the same jobs. I was unemployed at the start of July and there are five-10 jobs being advertised then that are still being `added` as `new` postings! And they have been added every day since July pretty much. I can predict which five are going to be added tomorrow!
If Job Centres are liaising with hopeless training companies leading you to roles in scam companies,that`s when the usual jovial complaints about the service have to turn into a rail against something turning sinister,especially when you feel you `have` to comply. I`ll try any job..but the big condition is--I expect to be paid!

There is no way anyone on here can know if you would be put straight on the work program (highly unlikely though). You are entitled to JSA if you want it and provided you do what is asked of you it is highly unlikely you will get yelled at.
Remember thousands of people sign on- its not meant to be a nice experience but for most people nothing happens of note it is only the awful experiences you hear about.

so if i go into the job centre to claim JSA will they ask me if i want to join a work program or can I just say I am just happy to apply for jobs myself as long as i fill in this form stating that I am activley looking for work as what i hear the work program are no use as its not something i want to do

After reading your post i was wondering does the Job Center force you onto JSA? Can you say no? Will that mean anything if i say no?

Also i hear they suggest you course to take like How to do a CV and to make a good impression. Do you have to attend them? Or can you say no to that? I beileve if you say no you get sanctioned or something.

I've been going to the job centre since late August, and I haven't been put on a mandatory work programme yet so I wouldn't worry about that yet.

Generally, you're told to apply for a certain amount of jobs per week, make a record of it, and then sign on every 2 weeks. Signing on doesn't take any longer than 5 minutes, usually.

Also every few weeks you have to see an advisor. I'm always told that appointments may last up to an hour, but I haven't had one last past 15 minutes yet.

I wouldn't say the jobcentre is helpful in terms of finding employment, but they're not the tyrants that they're sometimes said to be. I suppose it depends on where you go, though.

so if i go into a job centre and see an advisor can I say i just want to claim JSA providing that all i want to do is apply for jobs myself and provide that i fill in form stating that i am looking for work and that is all

so will they ask me if i want to join a work program can I just turn it down and say that I am looking for work myself and that i can apply myself without the help of JC or work program

are JC advsiors nice or sometimes rude to people as not looking forward to my appointment as dont want to end up working in some shop and force to work in work program agianst my will